The Shadow #23
Created by Walter B. Gibson
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Giovanni Timpano
Colors by Fabricio Guerro
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross, Dean Motter
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: March 19, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Dynamite’s The Shadow is a retelling of the Walter B. Gibson stories best known from radio plays that starred, among others, Orson Wells. As a comic the stories take on a new life. I was a fan of the radio programs so I asked to see what this new Shadow might be. The cover art by Alex Ross is spectacular, invoking the period and sensibility of the 1930s around the start of WWII. I found the heavy-handedness of the line art by Giovanni Timpano to be evocative of the older comics I have seen like Sgt. Rock books from the ’70s.

Doc Savage #3
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Bilquis Evely
Colors by Daniela Miwa
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross and John Cassaday
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 26, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

Doc Savage #3 is where this title REALLY gets going. Without even realizing it the first two excellent issues have, while we thought they had just been stand alone stories, set up a great story that really gets moving in this issue.

Author Chris Roberson really kicks things up a notch in this issue. The first two issues have each taken place in a different decade, and this one is no different. Taking place in the early 1960s, Doc is ready to reveal the secret of his longevity and seeming lack of aging. But, of course, some people don’t want that secret revealed; they want it for themselves and for their own personal gain. As if dealing with that wasn’t enough, an old enemy turns up to literally take away everything Doc holds dear to him.

Doc Savage #2
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Bilquis Evely
Colors by Daniela Miwa
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross & John Cassaday
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: January 22, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

I didn’t think Doc Savage #2 could get any better than the first issue, but I was SO WRONG!! If the quality keeps up, this series could go on forever.

Writer Chris Roberson REALLY knows his Doc Savage. And I mean REALLY KNOWS HIS DOC SAVAGE! This new issue is set 10 years after the first one, and there’s some really interesting twists and turns in the ongoing story. What’s even more impressive is that this is a total standalone tale, but with the way Roberson tells it, it’s very evident that this is just one chapter in an ongoing arc. The writer introduces a lot of hallmark Doc Savage trademarks here, the Fortress of Solitude and Pat Savage, just to name a couple. This is one of the most solidly written comics that I’ve read in a while.

Doc Savage #1
Written by Chris Roberson
Art by Bilquis Evely
Colors by Daniela Miwa
Letters by Rob Steen
Covers by Alex Ross and John Cassaday
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: December 11, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Straight from the good old 86th floor, the Man of Bronze has returned! This is a bold prediction from me, but Doc Savage is Dynamite Entertainment’s new Shadow. I see this title spanning multiple spin-offs and miniseries. Not because of any kind of over-saturation planning by Dynamite, but because it’s THAT good, and the character has THAT much potential.

I can’t imagine that writer Chris Roberson had it easy. Not only did he have to write a comic book, he had to write one that not only included mind-bending science, but 1930’s “slang” as well. Roll all of those up together and it had to be a pretty daunting task. But, thankfully, Roberson knows his way around writing comics. In Doc Savage #1, Roberson writes a very well crafted first issue, and, I can only assume, the first part of a storyline that is far from over. This is a great introduction to the world and characters of the Doc Savage universe, and, on its own, a very entertaining story.

The Black Bat #2
Written by Brian Buccellato
Art by Ronan Cliquet
Colored by Mat Lopes
Lettered by Rob Steen
Covers by Marcos Martin, Billy Tan, Jae Lee, Ardian Syaf and Joe Benitez
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 5, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Reading The Black Bat #2 will further cement what we now know as FACT. Dynamite Entertainment loves its pulp heroes and takes extra good care of them. I’m not sure just who it is, I’m guessing senior editor Joe Rybandt, but someone at DE goes the extra mile to see that all these books are treated with the utmost care and that they all have a genuinely sincere creative team working together to ensure that the best versions of these characters are hitting the stands.

Writer Brian Buccellato, best known for his work on DC Comics The Flash, takes what could’ve easily been a Batman rip-off and does something that’s not even remotely related to one of “those types of stories.” In fact, he goes out of his way to make the character unique and independent and stand out on his own. And we’re rewarded for all his hard work by having a great comic!!!